Had followers Lingelbaha and two Italian masters — Cerquozzi and Codazzi. Arriving in Rome, he settled in the parish Church of St. Mary del Popolo. He was familiar with such prominent artists as Jan Bot, as well as two French masters Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin. Had a significant impact on Michael Swerts. One of the first to start doing scenic painting classes. Van Lar during his life in Rome was repeatedly attacked by the Academy of St. Luke for neoacademist his art, but his "bambaata" was recognized not only in Italy and Holland, but almost everywhere in Europe. It van Lahr praises and puts in the forefront not "prettiness" of the characters, but their grotesque and dramatic nature.
His real name was Peter van Bedding Lahr (Boddingh Pieter van Laer); perhaps he studied in Haarlem at Esaias van de Velde. About 1625 van Lahr went to Rome, where he remained until 1639. Here he meets Herman van Swanevelt and Sandrart and Claude Lorrain. He played an important role in the environment of foreigners working in Rome in 1630, especially in the Northern group of artists United in "Schildeibent", or Guild of painters. Because of his ugly body ("self-Portraits", Rome, Gal. Pallavicini; Florence, Uffizi) he was nicknamed "Bamboccio (marisposa", "bubble"). This nickname became the title of a new pictorial genre that van Lahr created in Rome, and which made him famous: "bamboccianti", Roman street scene ("brigands", Saint-Petersburg, GOS. The Hermitage; the "Italian scene", Florence, Uffizi; "Travellers with horses before the Italian coaching Inn", Florence, Palazzo Pitti; "Thieves in the cave", "the Horsemen at the Inn", Rome, Gal. Of recession). These scenes are animated by commoners, dressed in rags and large wide-brimmed hats. The artist used a muted and heavy paint, combining their Dutch education caravaggism. Paintings by van Lara was very popular in Rome and was copied by a group of artists, among whom were Miles, Lingelbach, Cerquozzi and Bourdon.
But only in our time, it was recognized the value of van Lara as a landscape painter; he was the first Dutch artist who formed his views of several groups of trees and fairly high hills, among which are genre figures; these figures, rather large, written in a vivid and soft and form a main part of the song ("Departure from the tavern", Paris, Louvre; "the Shepherds"; "the Forge in Roman ruins", 1635, Schwerin, Museum). Often the characters in his paintings are the shepherds with their animals or hunters with dogs ("the Shepherds and laundresses", Amsterdam, GOS. Museum; "the Herd among the ruins", Madrid, Prado). Van Lahr was also the Creator of two new genres that have had great success in the Netherlands after 1640 and was copied until the nineteenth century: the "pastoral" and "the hunting scene". These genres have inspired not only by the Italianate landscape painters of direction (Berchem, Asselain, Dujardin, Broom), but also artists who, in all probability, never been to Italy (Adrian van de Velde, Dirk Stop, Philips Wouwerman).
In 1639 van Lahr via Amsterdam returns to Haarlem. Perhaps he was influenced by Dutch artists not only works created on the return, but also paintings in Rome, who, according to documents, were bought for a high price in Italy and then transported to Holland. Himself van Lahr starts his journey in 1642, but after this date there are no more any information.
